One Wish
by Orenda
Summary: *Finally Completed!* Nosedive has an impossible wish, but what would happen if it were to come true in a way none of the ducks would expect?
1. Part 1

One Wish  
  
By Orenda  
  
A/N: Hi everybody. I've decided to try writing a Mighty Ducks fic. If I get some good reviews, I think I'll maybe start writing a series. I know that my PPG story isn't finished (and that it hasn't been updated in a couple months *blushes*) but this story came to me recently. This may sound like other stories, but trust me, I'm trying hard to stay original. I don't own the ducks, you know the drill. Okay, I'll shut up and on with the story!  
  
  
  
It was December in Anaheim, and the streets were filled with people doing last minute shopping or other errands. With Christmas being only a few days away, everyone seemed to be busy. Even Captain Comics seemed more crowded than usual. Nosedive sighed as he leaned with his arm on the counter.  
  
"Guys, what exactly is so big about this Christmas thing? I mean, I've heard the background story and all, but why is everyone so hyped about it?" he asked.  
  
Mookie responded, "Oh, Dive, It's a magical holiday. It's a chance for people to see family that they haven't seen all year. People's dreams come true on Christmas. They even say miracles can happen."  
  
Dive looked at her quizzically, "What kind of miracles?"  
  
"Lots of kinds. People feel the magic as they fall in love or get engaged. People who are less fortunate may receive food or other donations from others who are in the spirit of giving. Sometimes, people wish for the impossible to happen, and then it does."  
  
Thrash added in, "Oh, don't listen to her. She was forced to watch to many Christmas specials as a child."  
  
Nosedive smiled as Mook smacked Thrash upside his head. "Dive, trust me. Christmas is important for a ton of people. Dreams can come true, and besides, the lights are totally cool."  
  
"Well, thanks for the info. I gotta go before Wing freaks out at me for being late."  
  
"Later, Dive," Thrash called out as Dive left the shop with a stack of comics.  
  
*****  
  
Dive's thoughts kept drifting back to what Mook had said as he headed back to the pond on his Duckcycle. Did wishes really come true for Christmas? Dive had never celebrated Christmas; none of the ducks had. But something about it filled his heart with wonder. It wouldn't hurt to wish for something that seemed impossible would it?  
  
All through his life, Nosedive and his brother Wildwing had faced one challenge after another. After their parents had died, both ducks had been forced to grow up rather quickly, Wing always on the constant lookout for his brother. And then after the Saurians took over Puckworld and they were sent to the camps, Dive lost his chance to be a kid. He regretted that more than anything, and he regretted that Wing had lost his youth even before he did.  
  
Dive glanced up at the sky as he headed into the Pond. The stars were shining brightly by now as they reflected in Dive's eyes. It had been getting darker earlier everyday, but the stars were welcome to Dive. He looked up at them sadly. If only, he thought. I wish me and Wing could have had a real family with a real childhood. Then, realizing how serious he had been acting, shook his head to clear his thoughts. I wonder if Mallory found the "gift" I left in her room.  
  
As he walked into the Pond, Dive failed to notice a certain star shine brighter than all the others for a moment, and then die out.  
  
*****  
  
Practice went very well for the ducks. Well, it went well if you didn't count the fact that afterwards Mallory tried to kill Dive for scaring her with all of the fake spiders on her dresser. In order to save himself from her wrath, Dive had to lock himself in Wildwing's room. Shaking his head in disbelief at his brother, Wing knocked on the door to his room.  
  
"Come on, Dive. It's my room; let me in!" he said into the door.  
  
"Is Mallory around anywhere?" came the muffled reply.  
  
"No, she's calmed down; she's in watching a movie with Duke."  
  
The door slid open so Wing walked in.  
  
"Lock the door back up, will ya?" Dive was lying on his stomach on his brother's bed.  
  
"Sorry, but I think I'll keep it unlocked. Mal won't come after you as long as I'm in here."  
  
"Well, then can I sleep in here with you, bro? Please?!"  
  
Wing smiled at him, "Alright, I suppose."  
  
"Thanks, bro. You're the best!"  
  
"Why, because I'm protecting you from your death?"  
  
Dive was about to protest that he could take care of himself when Wildwing attacked him, sending Nosedive into a fit of giggles. He tried defending himself from Wing's tickling, but it was to no avail. Dive pleaded him to stop, which Wing finally did, only for Nosedive to go after him. But being bigger, Wing soon had the upper hand and their positions switched again. After several minutes of yelling for mercy, they both collapsed on the floor, out of breath.  
  
"We haven't done that in a long time," Wing commented after regaining his breath.  
  
"Yeah," Dive replied, still breathing hard. "I miss spending time with you, bro."  
  
"We'll just have to try harder, that's all. Maybe after Dragaunus is gone."  
  
"Hey Wing?" Dive asked as he looked up at the ceiling.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"This Christmas thing that the humans keep talking about. Mook told me that Miracles can happen."  
  
"Do you believe her?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but I guess we'll find out. Is there anything you would wish would come true?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I dunno. Like maybe we could have a real family when we go back to Puckworld."  
  
Wing sat up slightly and looked over at his brother. "Dive, you know I'd never give you up for anything, right?"  
  
Dive shook his head, "That's not what I meant. It's just, even Phil's going to leave for the holidays to spend time with his family. I just think that."  
  
"Look, Dive. I know you don't remember mom and dad very well, but we did spend time together. Is that what you mean? That you want more time with a family?"  
  
Dive finally looked straight into Wing's eyes, "Yeah, I guess so." He paused. "I'm not sure I remember what Mom and Dad used to do, but I miss the times when you would stay up with me and tell stories until I fell asleep."  
  
Wing smiled at that, "Or when you had nightmares and I stayed up all night with you, and then I had to stay home from school the next day because I was too tired to do anything?"  
  
"Yeah. It's been a long time since that's happened. You seemed to have more fun back then."  
  
"I guess I just grew up. Well, you did too."  
  
"That's what I mean. I guess I wish that we had another chance to be kids again." Dive sighed, and grabbed one of Wing's pillows that had fallen on the floor next to him during the "fight".  
  
"You know what, Dive? In a way, so do I."  
  
They looked at each other for a few seconds, Dive finally losing eye contact as he covered his mouth from a yawn.  
  
"Oh, well. We can't change the past, can we?"  
  
Wing grabbed the other that was on the floor. "Nope. If we could, we could have prevented the Saurian invasion from ever happening, or that our parents would still be around."  
  
"And maybe you could've gotten a girlfriend."  
  
Wildwing glared at his brother. "Just kiddin'," Nosedive decided that he couldn't take anymore tickling for one night. He yawned again and closed his eyes.  
  
Wing reached over and shut the light off. He then took his pillow and laid down next to Dive on the floor.  
  
"Goodnight, baby bro."  
  
"'Night."  
  
Wildwing listened as his brother's breathing started to slow and even out, and as he drifted off to sleep his thoughts turned towards his past, and his last thoughts were in thinking that Nosedive was right; If only.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Duke emerged out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. He frowned as he realized that he was the first one to get up. What happened to Wildwing? He's normally the first one up, he thought. Passing Dive's room to go into the Ready Room he noticed that the teen's door was open and no one was inside. Ahh, must be brotherly bonding again, Duke realized. I'm surprised Wing is willing to keep him from Mallory. She almost killed him along with Dive last time.  
  
By the time it had reached 10:30, Duke was starting to wonder, though. All of the others were up, and Wildwing usually was up by now even if they had stayed up late. His curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to take a chance and knock on Wildwing's door.  
  
"Wildwing? Nosedive? Are you in there?"  
  
Getting no response, he finally decides to come in anyway. He opens the door.  
  
.and walks in to receive the shock of his life. There on the floor curled up next to each other were two young ducklings.  
  
The slightly larger one must've heard Duke coming in, as he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had the same colored feathers, and the same eyes as Wing. He was wearing Wing's shirt, except that it was way too large for him. The young duck looked up at Duke and smiled shyly.  
  
The other one, that had to be Nosedive, sat up from noticing his brother's movements and looked up at Duck as well. With the same blond hair and the same sparkle in his eyes, even with the clothes about three times too big for him, there was no denying who the kid was.  
  
When Duke got over the initial shock, he opened up his comm unit. "Hey Tanya? Can you come down to Wildwing's room? I think we have a slight problem here."  
  
The young Nosedive suddenly hid behind his brother, obviously afraid of Duke. Not quite sure what to do, Duke bent down on one knee and smiled at the boys. "Hey there, guys. Don't you know who I am?"  
  
Nosedive shook his head and then buried it into Wing's side. The little Wildwing protectively moved so that he was in between Duke and his brother.  
  
"No, who are you?" Wildwing asked.  
  
Thinking quickly, he responded, "Why it's me, your Uncle Duke."  
  
Wildwing looked at him distrustfully, "We don't have any uncles."  
  
"Uncle Duke?" Nosedive perked up from behind Wing. "Aren't you a bad guy in that gang?"  
  
Maybe they still have a few of their memories, or at least knows of the Brotherhood. "Not anymore," he replied. "We've been friends for a long time. Now we're trying to stop that bad lizard, Dragaunus. Don't you remember?"  
  
Wing and Dive shook their heads.  
  
"Are we at another orphanage? Is there other kids around?" Obviously Wing was the more talkative one.  
  
"Well, not exactly." Duke was interrupted as Tanya came in through the doors and gasps.  
  
"Oh, stars."  
  
"See what I mean, Tanya?"  
  
"But how.it's scientifically impossible."  
  
"Doesn't look that way to me. "  
  
Tanya looked over at the little ducks, then back at Duke. "We'd better take them to the lab," she said quietly, so they wouldn't hear.  
  
Duke nodded, then turned back to the ducklings, "Okay, kids. You can come with Uncle Duke, and Aunt Tanya's gonna check you out." To Tanya after the look she gave him he added, " What? I'm trying to keep from scaring them. I didn't mean nothin' by it."  
  
To his surprise, he felt a small hand on his leg. Duke looked down and Nosedive was there, smiling shyly. Nosedive acting shy? he thought. That doesn't seem right. But then again, seeing Nosedive as a young duckling wasn't exactly right either. He decided to take a chance, so he reached down and picked up Dive. Wing looked on cautiously, as if waiting for Duke to try to do anything with his brother.  
  
Surprisingly, Dive didn't protest, and seemed comfortable with Duke. "Is Aunt Tanya a doctor?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, she is. Come on, Wing. You're comin' too."  
  
He frowned slightly, but Wildwing reluctantly started to follow Tanya and Duke, with Nosedive wrapped around his neck, down the hallway.  
  
*****  
  
As Dive and Wing sat in Tanya's lab, Wildwing telling Dive a story with the little duck's attention focused completely on him, the others were gathered around Tanya awaiting her explanation.  
  
"Well, actually I'm not sure what happened to them. I examined each of them. Both physically and mentally, Nosedive is an average four year old duck, and Wildwing is around six."  
  
"That doesn't make sense," Mallory cut in. "Wildwing is about five years older than Dive."  
  
"I, uh, took that into my, um, calculations. For some reason, now there is about a two and a half year difference between them," Tanya shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this."  
  
"It's got Dragaunus's name written all over it," Duke added.  
  
Grin spoke up, "I don't believe it was him. There is good karma present, and I don't sense any bad vibes from this, as if it is meant to be."  
  
When the other ducks gave him strange looks, Grin simply shrugged.  
  
"Anyway," Tanya continued, "I'm not sure how to reverse the, uh, process. I'll work on it, but I'm not posit. pos. there aren't any guarantees on how long it will take to fix them."  
  
"So for now we have two little ducklings to keep entertained. We don't even have any clothes here in their size," Duke commented.  
  
"You and Mallory can have that job. I'd help, but the proba. prob. chances of getting them back to normal would be better if I'm not worried about a couple of, um, kids around here," said Tayna.  
  
"Thanks," Mallory remarked sarcastically.  
  
At that moment, Nosedive started crying, bringing everyone's attention towards him. Wildwing frowned at his brother as Dive jumped off of the cot they were sitting on and ran straight to Duke.  
  
"Wildwing, what did you do to your brother?" Mallory looked at him sternly, but not angrily.  
  
Wing glared back at her, "I can't help it that he's a baby and gets scared of everything."  
  
By now, Duke had picked up Nosedive and he had stopped crying.  
  
"That's not very nice, Wing. Why'd you go an' scare your brother?" Duke asked him.  
  
"'Cause it's easy to do. He knows I don't mean nothin' by it and he'll get over it."  
  
Mallory whispered to Tanya, "He sure has a bigger mouth than the Wildwing we know."  
  
"Well, I guess he'll grow out of it then, right?" was her reply.  
  
"Hey," Duke chimed in, "What are we gonna do 'bout tonight's game? They won't be able to play." He looked down at the duck in his arms. Duke was amazed that Dive would be so willing to come to him, especially since Wing had been the only one looking out for him his whole life.  
  
Wildwing gained a sudden interest in their conversation, "Hockey? Are you guys playing hockey? Can I play?"  
  
The other ducks looked at each other. "Are there any kids' skates around here, like from when the rink was open to the public?" Duke had an idea which might keep the ducklings busy for awhile.  
  
"Phil would know," Tanya answered. "Duke, you're not thinking."  
  
Duke shook his head, "No, of course not. We'll have to cancel the game, but we could still take 'em out on the ice for awhile."  
  
Mallory added, "If you guys want, I can go out to the mall and buy them some clothes, maybe a few toys or something."  
  
"That's a good idea. Who knows when and if I can, you know, change them back," Tanya commented.  
  
Mallory nodded and headed off for a Duckcycle. Have we really lost Wildwing and Nosedive for good? She thought. Who would be their new leader? No, she decided, driving the thought away. We'll get through this. Dragaunus has dished out worst things at us than this.  
  
Down the hall she heard Dive and Wing complaining they were hungry, and Duke agreeing to make them something. She only heard part of whatever Tanya said, but it had thrown the ducklings into a fit of giggles.  
  
Then again, she thought, we've never babysat for a couple of little ducks before either.  
  
*****  
  
Mallory returned to the Pond with a couple of bags about an hour later. She set them down on a table in the Ready Room and went in search of her teammates. She decided to check the kitchen first, remembering the last thing she had heard before leaving. Upon entering, she burst out laughing at the scene before her.  
  
The kitchen was in complete and utter chaos. Contents of various items were spilled about everywhere. Dive and Wing must have decided to have a food fight, and apparently Duke had gotten stuck in the middle of it. Now, the little ducks were innocently munching on cheese and crackers.  
  
Duke glared at her and said, "Sure, they were hungry," which only made Mallory laugh harder. She had to dash behind the door, however, as she dodged the projectile Duke threw at her.  
  
"Well you can help me clean it up, since you think it's so funny."  
  
After making sure she was safe from getting hit, Mallory reentered the room, covering her mouth and taking deep breaths to keep from laughing again.  
  
Seemingly out of character for her, she smiled at the two ducklings. "When you're done, I've got some new clothes for both of you on the table out there, " she told them, pointing.  
  
"Really? Then can we go and play hockey?" Wing brightened up.  
  
"Sure, we can go up to the rink for a while, that is if 'Uncle Duke' found some skates for you."  
  
Duke had already started cleaning things up and tossed a roll of paper towels to Mallory, "Actually, we decided to let Grin go and tell Phil what happened to them. He should be back with some skates any minute now."  
  
"Where's Tanya?" Mallory asked.  
  
"In her lab, tryin' to find a way to get these two back to normal," he pointed towards the two ducklings who were getting up and heading to where Mal had left the bags. He called to them as they left, "Hey, come back in here after you've changed; Make sure you help your brother if he needs it, Wing."  
  
They nodded and left, Nosedive following right behind Wildwing.  
  
Mallory was finishing cleaning up the countertops. She smiled again for a moment, "Aren't they cute?"  
  
Duke snorted, "Yeah, real cute. But they definitely act their age."  
  
A short time later, Wing and Dive were back, both wearing smaller versions of their own jerseys. "Can we go now?" Wing asked impatiently.  
  
Duke looked at Mallory, "You just had to get those, didn't you?"  
  
She looked back at him, "I couldn't resist. Wait until you see what else I bought."  
  
A thought suddenly came to Duke, "Hey Dive." The little duck looked up at him. "You do know how to skate, right?"  
  
He nodded timidly, but Wing spoke for him, "He can skate, but someone has to hold his hand or he'll fall down."  
  
"That doesn't sound too hard. Is that alright with you, Dive?" he asked.  
  
In response, Dive walked over next to him, already waiting for Duke to help him.  
  
"Let's go find Grin before these two explode on us," Mallory said.  
  
"Yeah! Hockey! Yay!" Wing was already on his way to the ice before anyone could stop him.  
  
*****  
  
"Chameleon!" came a roar from down the hall of the Raptor.  
  
The Chameleon rushed down the hall towards the main chamber. For once he didn't mind telling Dragaunus what had happened.  
  
Upon entering, he morphed into Lurch from the Adams' Family, "You rang?" he asked before returning to normal.  
  
"Chameleon, give your report, " the Saurian overlord demanded.  
  
"Dragaunus, it's all over the media. Something happened to Wildwing and his kid brother," Chameleon held up a newspaper for him to see. Morphing into a news reporter, he added, "Apparently, for reasons yet to be determined, two of the Mighty Ducks were magically changed overnight into children. With the Duck's goalie and leading scorer out of commission indefinitely, the leading team in the NHL has cancelled all of their games until further notice. More information will be given as it becomes available."  
  
Dragaunus smiled evilly, "Wildwing has magically become a. child? This could be interesting." he pauses. "In fact, I think it could.Chameleon, get Wraith and Siege up here, now. Tomorrow shall be marked as the end of those accursed ducks, and the beginning of my global conquest."  
  
He laughs evilly as the Chameleon turns to find the other two henchmen. I'd hate to be a duck for Christmas Eve, he thought.  
  
*****  
  
Duke and Mallory leaned back against the couch, relaxing. They watched as Wildwing and Nosedive sat on the floor, playing with a board game Mallory had bought for them. It was a rather simple game, but they seemed to be enjoying it.  
  
They had found Grin, with two smaller pairs of skates and an extremely devastated Phil, and had spent most of the afternoon on the ice with the two ducklings. Nosedive was slightly intimidated by Grin, so Grin and Mallory went with Wildwing, shooting pucks easily for him so he could learn how to block them. Duke had taken Nosedive to the other end of the rink, the little duck perfectly content to practice skating around the ice. After some time, Duke was even able to let go of Nosedive's hand without him falling over.  
  
Tanya had taken a short break from her work to watch from the sidelines and cheer both of them on. Except when Nosedive looked over to her and waved, he lost his balance and went sliding across the ice. It had scared him more than anything else, but after Duke had calmed him down again Dive had decided he'd had enough skating for one day.  
  
"Wing, it's my turn to go first," Dive whined.  
  
"No, it's not. I get to go first," Wing argued back.  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Do too!"  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Do too!"  
  
"Okay," Mallory broke in, holding her head. "Wing, why don't you let Dive go first this time, and then you can go first next time?"  
  
"'Cause I. well. oh fine," he sighed in defeat. But then he brightened up, as if thinking of something, "But I get to pick what we do next."  
  
"Okay, Wing," Dive obviously adored his brother, Mallory had noticed, and it seemed that he'd agree willingly to almost anything he said.  
  
As they resumed their game, Mallory slumped back against the couch, Duke giving her an amused look.  
  
"I've decided that I never want to have kids," she told him making Duke chuckle lightly.  
  
"What? Don't you think this is fun?" he asked.  
  
"You're just enjoying it because Nosedive likes you, " she replied.  
  
"Yeah, I'm not sure I understand that. From what they've said in the past, Wildwing was the only one who ever cared about him. It might be that's he's too little now to remember what happened before, but I figured he'd never willingly leave his brother's side."  
  
Mallory sighed, "It's a mystery, I suppose."  
  
"Like how this ever happened in the first place? I mean, they were both fine yesterday, and when I saw them this morning."  
  
"Let's not worry about how it happened. Hopefully Tanya will figure it out, and then she can fix them."  
  
"Hey, why'd it get so quiet all of a sudden?"  
  
Both ducks looked over and suddenly realized that Dive and Wing were both gone.  
  
"Oh, no," Mallory's headache returned to her. "They could be anywhere in the Pond by now."  
  
"Well, let's start looking before they get too far away," Duke suggested.  
  
They stood up and were about to split up when they heard a yell come from Tanya's lab.  
  
"Something tells me we don't need to," Mallory sighed.  
  
A few seconds later, Tanya burst through the door, covered in silly string, one giggling little duck in each hand.  
  
"Now I know where Dive gets his pranks from; his brother," Tanya huffed. "I think you two can stay in here, so I can get you back to, uh, normal."  
  
"Wildwing did it?" Duke questioned her.  
  
"Yeah. Actually, I think he just took Nosedive along for the ride. And don't even ask what he, you know, did."  
  
She left, and Wing and Dive started laughing harder.  
  
"Wildwing pulling pranks?" Duke smirked.  
  
"Well, it proves that they're related," she said pointing to the ducks now rolling on the floor, enjoying themselves.  
  
Duke didn't respond, lost in his own thoughts. Now what are we going to do with them?  
  
*****  
  
Tanya yawned as she walked into the kitchen. She found Duke and Mallory sitting at the counter drinking sodas (Duke without coffee?) and talking quietly.  
  
"Aren't you two in charge of, you know, babysitting?" she asks them.  
  
"Well yeah, but Nosedive fell asleep while we were watching a movie, so we just made Wildwing go to bed with him," Duke answered her. "But we seem to have a problem."  
  
"With what?" Tanya didn't think the ducks could use any more problems.  
  
"It looks like some reporter found out about the real reason why we canceled the game tonight. It's in all the news reports," Mallory told her. "Like we need the public getting involved with this right now."  
  
"Great," Tanya slumped down in a chair next to them.  
  
"Any progress?" Mal questions.  
  
"Not even slightly. I'm not sure what to do, since it's like, um, nothing I've ever worked with before. But I'll keep trying; we can't give up yet." Tanya yawned.  
  
"I think we could all use some sleep though, " Duke noted.  
  
Tanya nodded, "So what are you two doing tomorrow?"  
  
Mallory replied, "Well, it is Christmas Eve tomorrow, so Duke thought we could have Wing and Dive help us decorate the Pond with all of the Christmas decorations Phil brought over the other day."  
  
"Yep, and hopefully we won't run into any more problems. Like what if Dragaunus attacks or somethin'?" Duke comments.  
  
Mallory looked over at him, "Don't even mention Lizard Lips. All I can say is that hopefully he's on a Christmas vacation or we may have some major trouble."  
  
  
  
A/N: So, whaddya think? Good, bad, want me to keep going? Tell me your opinion. I had originally planned this story to be a one shot thing, but it keeps getting longer. I think I can break it into two parts, but it won't be any more than three, ok? Thanks for reading, catch ya later! 


	2. Part 2

One Wish  
  
By Orenda  
  
A/N: Hi, I'm back to continue this story by popular request. My original intention was to finish this in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, that failed miserably. But I didn't give up, right? I hope you still have some small amount of Christmas spirit in you, and will enjoy the conclusion to my story. Thanks for being patient, and for all of the reviews, so here you go…  
  
  
  
Part 2  
  
  
  
The next morning, Duke was awakened by two little ducks who had decided to jump up on his bed.  
  
"Uncle Duke! It's time to get up," Wildwing nagged.  
  
"Yeah, you said we'd make the Pond all pretty today," Nosedive chimed in.  
  
Duke groaned and looked over at his clock. Even under normal circumstances Wildwing would never get up this early.  
  
"Shouldn't you two still be in bed?" he asks, shutting his eyes again.  
  
"Nope. What's the fun in that?" Wing responded.  
  
"Come on, Uncle Duke," Dive nudged him.  
  
"PLEASE?" they both pleaded.  
  
Duke sighed. This was going to be a long day.  
  
*****  
  
"Is everything ready?" Wraith asked.  
  
"Almost. I've just got a few more adjustments to do on this, and then those ducks are as good as gone," Siege sneered.  
  
The three Saurians had been working for several hours on some equipment that needed repairing for their plan. The plan was simple enough, but, knowing how easily the ducks had beaten them in the past, they weren't taking any chances.  
  
"What about you, Chameleon? Are you ready for your part of the plan?" Wraith looked at him.  
  
"Yes, of course, of course," Chameleon said with an English accent. With a deeper voice he added, "They'll never know what hit 'em."  
  
Wraith glanced at the two Saurians, "You'd better be right, because I wouldn't want to face Lord Dragaunus if we were to fail…"  
  
*****  
  
Several hours later, Duke and Mallory watched as Nosedive and Wildwing finished adding their last ornaments on the Christmas tree they had set up. The little ducks had gotten into the whole Christmas idea, and seemed to enjoy decorating immensely; with Duke and Mallory's help of course. Now that the biggest job, the tree, was done, Wildwing walked over towards them.  
  
"Now what can we do?" he asked.  
  
"Well, we could bake cookies," Mallory said with a smirk.  
  
"Oh, no," Duke held his hand up. "We're not taking these two back into the kitchen. I don't think so!"  
  
"Hey, what's that?" Everyone's attention went to Nosedive who bent over and picked up something shiny.  
  
Duke walked over to inspect the object, "Hey Dive, you found a penny."  
  
"Must be your lucky day," Mallory told the little duck.  
  
"Wow, can I keep it?" he begged.  
  
"Sure, it can't hurt," Duke nodded.  
  
Nosedive beamed. He scurried over beside his brother to show off his newest possession when an alarm went off, echoing throughout the room.  
  
"It's Drake One," Mallory gasped.  
  
"I knew it was too quiet around here," Duke said, annoyed.  
  
They took off down the hallway towards their supercomputer, Dive and Wing following close behind, to find Tanya and Grin already there.  
  
"There's huge energy readings coming from the warehouse district," Tanya told them.  
  
"It must be Dragaunus," Mallory noted.  
  
"But what are we gonna do with them?" Duke pointed at the two ducklings who still looked flustered from the sudden noise of the alarm. "We can't leave 'em alone."  
  
"How about if we take them with us and leave them in the Migrator?" Mallory suggested.  
  
No one was really comfortable with the idea, but they didn't have much of a choice since they couldn't leave them alone and all four of the ducks may be needed to stop the Saurians. So soon they were all in the Migrator heading east towards the confrontation.  
  
*****  
  
Nosedive sighed. This was boring!  
  
He and Wildwing were stuck inside the Migrator after the others had left to go fight Dragaunus. Wing had gone up and sat in the driver's seat, pretending to steer. Nosedive took out his penny for a moment, and looked at it. No, that won't be much fun, he thought. Placing it back into his pocket, Dive started searching the vehicle, attempting to find something fun to do.  
  
Finding nothing, he was about to bug his brother until Wing would tell him a story when the back hatch suddenly opened and Duke appeared. Glad that Duke was back he jumped off of the seat and ran towards him.  
  
As Duke held his arms out, he smiled and said, "Hey, kid!"  
  
With a sudden shift, in place of Duke is the Chameleon. Nosedive screamed and tried to retreat, but by then he was too close and is snatched up by the Chameleon. Dive struggled but was unable to get out of his grasp. Wildwing came running, and slammed into the Saurian with full force.  
  
"Let go of my brother!" he yelled.  
  
Alas, this only resulted in him getting caught as well. Before he even had a chance to resist, the Chameleon activated his teleporter and suddenly they were on the main deck of the Raptor.  
  
Dragaunus was waiting with a weapon set to stun. He laughed evilly as he fired it, and both ducklings blacked out.  
  
*****  
  
When the ducks had arrived, Wraith and Siege were waiting for them. They opened fire on them, the ducks returning their laser shots with pucks. Tanya managed to get some good shots in, and Duke covered for her. Mallory was doing some damage herself, but at one point Grin had to shove her out of the way of one of Wraith's fireballs. The fight lasted for several minutes, but the ducks finally gained the upper hand and cornered the Saurians.  
  
"You ducks are pathetic," Siege called out to them.  
  
"Oh, yeah? Then how come we always stop you?" Duke called back between dodging shots.  
  
Siege sneered, "You'll never stop us this time…"  
  
"…Because we've already got what we came for," Wraith finished.  
  
With that, the two Saurians activated their teleporters and disappeared.  
  
"I wonder they meant by that?" Tanya puzzled.  
  
"Sometimes the answer is simpler than you think," Grin stated.  
  
"Such as?" Mallory asked.  
  
Grin replied, "Where has the Chameleon been this whole time?"  
  
Suddenly, Duke gasped, "The kids!"  
  
The others realized it at the same time. Mallory shook her head, "They've had this planned the whole time! They must've heard about what happened through the media."  
  
They all took off back to the Migrator. When they got there, the back hatch had been forced open and the Migrator was deserted. Duke suddenly found himself with a headache. Dragaunus had gotten a hold of Dive and Wing, and since they were kids they had almost no defenses against him. They didn't even have their coms because they had been taken off, seeing as they were too big for their wrists.  
  
How are we ever gonna get them back?  
  
*****  
  
Unsure of what to do, the ducks gloomily returned to the Pond, hoping that Drake One might be able to find even a trace of the Saurians.  
  
Mallory sighed. How could this have happened? It had been bad enough that Wing and Dive had been transformed into little kids. Now, the thought of Dragaunus having his scaly claws on them sickened her.  
  
As if on cue, Tanya suddenly uttered, "Hey guys, I think we're, uh, getting a transmission of some sort!"  
  
The ducks all gathered around the supercomputer, and after Tanya pushed a few buttons the Saurian overlord's face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Hello there, duckies," he sneered. "As you already know, I believe to have two things that belong to you." Dragaunus's face disappears and in his place is Nosedive and Wildwing, both unconscious and locked up behind an energized grid on the Raptor. The ducks all gasp as Dragaunus returned to the screen. "Don't worry, I've only stunned them, and you can get them back in good condition; if you cooperate. In three hours, exactly, go to conference room thirty-three in the Anaheim Convention Center. My drones will be waiting, and if you bring me a supply of bulerium crystals, I will trade them for your 'little' teammates." At this he laughed evilly, "Just remember, you have three hours or there will be roasted ducklings! Ha, ha, ha, ha!"  
  
The screen goes blank and the ducks lose transmission.  
  
Mallory whacked her fists against the wall, "Stars, that guy disgusts me!"  
  
"We will find them," Grin reassured them.  
  
"And besides, " Tanya added, "Wildwing's a really smart kid. Considering what he did to my lab last night, I'd actually, you know, feel sorry for the Saurians."  
  
They all smiled slightly at the thought. Of course Wing and Dive would be okay.  
  
Duke sighed, "Hey Tanya, did you get a signal of where he was transferring from?"  
  
Tanya shook her head, "I got the general direction; he's somewhere due south of here. But specifically, uh, I don't have a clue."  
  
"Then why don't we start heading in that direction. Maybe we'll pick up something," Mallory didn't want to just sit and do nothing.  
  
"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Duke agreed, "Let's go!"  
  
*****  
  
On board the Raptor, Wildwing slowly opened his eyes. The little duck blinked, confused. He didn't remember falling asleep, but now he seemed to be somewhere new. He realized he was locked up in a cell. Then he remembered; the ugly lizards had gotten them.  
  
He turned his head and saw his little brother crouched up in the corner with his head down on his knees, crying. With some concern, even at his current age, he crawled over to Dive, not really feeling like standing up yet.  
  
"Dive? Are you okay?"  
  
The little duck looked up and embraced his brother, "You wouldn't wake up, " he trembled, tears still in his eyes from fear.  
  
"I'm okay now. It's all right," Wing soothed.  
  
Nosedive started crying again; Wing could tell he was really scared. "Where's Uncle Duke? Why can't we go home?" he moaned in-between sobs.  
  
"They'll find us, " Wildwing assured himself as much as his brother, "and then they'll kick those lizards' butts."  
  
"Oh, how touching," Dragaunus said, voice full of sarcasm.  
  
The little ducks gasped and snapped their heads towards his voice.  
  
The Saurian gave them an evil look, "I don't think I've ever seen anything so disgusting."  
  
"What do you want with us?" Wildwing acted brave so his brother wouldn't be as scared. After all, it was his job to scare Nosedive, not this dumb scumball.  
  
"Actually, I'd like to destroy you brats. But if I did that, those other accursed ducks wouldn't give me what I want, now would they?"  
  
Dragaunus walked up to the energized grid holding in the ducklings and continued, "The only use I have for you two is for bait. Once I have all the ducks in my possession, I will be able to destroy all of you! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"  
  
The Saurian overlord left the ducklings behind, Nosedive still trembling. The little duck swallowed, "What are we gonna do, Wing?"  
  
Wildwing sat on the floor, frowning, "Hang on, let me come up with something." He looked over at the energized grid. They could probably crawl under it, if the bolts of energy were farther apart.  
  
He suddenly thought of something, "Dive, do you still have your penny?"  
  
The duckling nodded, taking the coin out of his pocket.  
  
Wildwing stood up and took it, and then walked over to inspect the grid. When he was satisfied, he carefully held up the penny next to the bar, his fingers only holding on by the edge closest to his body. With a look of determination plastered on his young face, he pushes the coin into the beam. Just as the little duck had hoped, the beam deflected off of the penny and shot back upward, leaving a sizable hole underneath.  
  
"Climb through it, Dive," he told his brother as he held the coin in place.  
  
Nosedive did as he was told, standing up and turning to face Wing after reaching the other side of the grid. With Wing's encouragement, he grabbed the penny from where he was at so Wing could crawl under the beam as well. Once they were both free, Dive stuck his penny back into his pocket again.  
  
"Yeah, way to go!" Wing smiled at him, proud that Nosedive hadn't gotten scared as they escaped.  
  
Wing took his brother's hand and led him down the corridor. Now the hard part came; finding a way out of the ship without the lizards knowing about it.  
  
*****  
  
Duke stared out of the window in the Migrator, partially lost in thought, but mostly just keeping his eye on everything, looking for any sign of the Saurians. Mallory was driving, and they were all eager to find where Dragaunus was hiding. They had been out searching for almost an hour; only two hours left to find little Wing and Dive. The only emotion he felt now was anger. Dragaunus wasn't going to get away with this.  
  
His attention suddenly became focused on the console as it beeped, demanding attention. Tanya, who was closest to it, pushed a few buttons before she said, "I think we've finally found something."  
  
"What is it?" Mallory asked curiously as she kept her hands on the wheel.  
  
"We seem to be picking up a huge amount of energy from that building," Tanya informed them, remaining  
  
focused on the tiny screen. "It looks like… turn right up here, Mallory."  
  
"Affirmative," she replied as she turned the corner.  
  
Duke was glad. After all of this searching with no results, they were going to finally going to face Lizard Lips, and he'd be sorry when the Mighty Ducks got through with him.  
  
*****  
  
"But Wing, I don't wanna go up there!" Nosedive protested in his whiny four- year-old voice.  
  
"You gotta, Dive, or they'll catch us again," his brother responded, who was too smart for his own good.  
  
The two ducklings were still on the Raptor, and when Wildwing discovered an opening into an air shaft, he figured it would be the best way to avoid the Saurians. Now the problem seemed to be convincing his younger brother that it was for the best.  
  
"It'll be okay," Wing assured him, "and besides, I think I know how to get out of here."  
  
Dive brightened, "You do?"  
  
Wildwing nodded. Still slightly reluctant, Nosedive finally agreed. Getting a boost from his brother, Dive managed to enter the long dark tunnel. The entrance hadn't been very high from the ground, so Wing was able to pull himself up without assistance. The two of them were able to pull the vent grate shut; apparently just in time. Hearing voices coming down the hall, Nosedive gasped. Wing hushed him as Siege and the Chameleon walked towards their hiding spot. As they got closer they picked up on the conversation the Saurians were having.  
  
"…and it's not gonna be me that gets to tell Dragaunus that we lost them," Siege was saying.  
  
"I'm not doing it," Chameleon shook his head, "I guess Wraith volunteers."  
  
"Sounds good to me." The two Saurians paused just ahead of where the ducklings were hiding.  
  
Siege scowled, " I swear, if I get my hands on those filthy little ducks, they won't ever be able to walk again, let alone play hockey, by the time I'm through with them."  
  
At this, Nosedive involuntarily let out a gasp of fear. Wing quickly reached over and covered his mouth, but Chameleon had already heard him.  
  
"What was that?" he looked towards them suddenly, even though they hadn't been spotted yet.  
  
Leary, Siege looked over to investigate as well. He stepped up to the vent, intending to pull the grate off which would expose Wing and Dive. The ducklings trembled in fear, knowing they were in trouble now. But just as Siege was about to discover them, his communicator beeped.  
  
"What now?" Siege griped as Wraith's face appeared over the unit.  
  
"The other ducks have arrived. We need you two down here at once," Wraith's normally gloomy expression was now worse, as if disgusted by even mentioning the Mighty Ducks.  
  
Siege sighed and turned away from the vent, "Fine."  
  
Chameleon didn't take his eyes off of the shaft as Siege shut off his communicator. "But Siege, what about…"  
  
"Forget it," Siege cut him off. "It was probably nothing. Besides, the big ones are better game."  
  
Siege activated his teleporter and disappeared. Chameleon grumbled, gave one last look at the vent, then disappeared as well.  
  
The two ducklings let out a sigh of relief. They had been so close to being discovered, but luck had been on their side.  
  
"Come on, Dive," Wing told his brother. "Let's get out of here."  
  
*****  
  
As the Ducks closed in on the building, the cloaking device finally faded away and the metallic sides of the Raptor took its place. They had parked the Migrator a block away, to help keep their presence a surprise. Duke looked up at the ship with determination. They had a mission to accomplish, and they could not fail this time.  
  
The plan was for Mallory, Grin, and Tanya to keep the Saurians' attention while Duke used to opportunity to sneak in and grab Wildwing and Nosedive. Duke was the best chance they had, and he was going to do his best to succeed.  
  
Duke looked over at the others from his hiding spot, which was by the edge of the next building, as the Raptor's main door whooshed open, revealing the Saurians. Wraith held out his staff, and Siege and Chameleon both raised their lasers into the air. The fight soon began. He saw Mallory dodge a shot fired at her and winced. He wished that he could be over there fighting along side them.  
  
Okay, stay focused, L'Orange, he thought to himself. I can't help Wildwing and Nosedive if I'm thinking 'bout somethin' else.  
  
Making sure that none of the Saurians were looking his way, he crept up to the vent that he'd discovered. He easily tore it off, and hoisted himself inside.  
  
*****  
  
The duct itself wasn't very big, but maneuvering through it was still possible for the former thief. He coughed lightly from the dust. Now all he had to do was find them.  
  
As he crawled along the duct, he heard a noise coming from up ahead. Duke froze. It must be the hunter drones! Well, he had his saber, so he'd be able to hold his own. Maybe that was where they were holding Wing and Dive. He had to take that chance. There was an opening a few feet ahead of him. He could jump down from there and take them by surprise. Yeah, that could work.  
  
But just as he was about to jump down and strike, a faint cry filled his ears. He looked up ahead of him and saw a shadow moving in the darkness. He heard a gasp, then a familiar cry.  
  
"What the…" he muttered as the sound came closer. Before he knew it something had jumped on top of him, nearly strangling him.  
  
"Uncle Duke!" the little figure cried out.  
  
Duke managed to pry the little duckling off enough so he could breathe again, "Nosedive?"  
  
Nosedive continued to hug him, but lowered his arm position a little. Meanwhile, Wildwing had caught up to his little brother and smiled at the sight of the older duck.  
  
"See Dive? I told you he'd find us," Wildwing grinned.  
  
Duke smiled back, glad that both of them were okay, "But how did you two manage to escape?"  
  
Wildwing shrugged back at him, "It was pretty easy."  
  
"Well, now that I've got you, we'd better go back out there so the others know you're safe," Duke noted.  
  
As he turned around to go back the way he had came, he failed to notice Wildwing jam something into his pocket that had been hidden in his hand. Wildwing then followed after Duke, who still had the young Nosedive in his arms.  
  
Now they would be getting out of this stupid heap of metal.  
  
*****  
  
Back outside the Raptor things weren't going much better. The ducks tried to remain defensive, hoping that Dragaunus and his goons would fail to notice they were missing a team member.  
  
So far they thought it was working, since the laser firing hadn't slowed down yet. In fact, they'd had several close calls already.  
  
Suddenly, Tanya turned around as she watched Mallory fall down to her knees, clutching her arm.  
  
"Cover me, Grin," she called out as she rushed over to help her teammate.  
  
The large duck nodded and repositioned himself so that he would be able to block any shots away from the girls. He really didn't like fighting this way, but he figured this time he would make an exception.  
  
Tanya kneeled down to examine the wound, "Are you okay?"  
  
Mallory tried to shrug her off, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."  
  
"It's still, you know, a laser burn. But it's not too deep. I'll have to fix it when we get back, though."  
  
Mallory nodded, then used her other hand to launch a puck at Siege, which came very close to hitting him.  
  
Tanya turned around again, and just as she was about to resume firing she heard a noise off to her side. She glanced over and saw Duke, holding Wildwing's hand with one arm and using the other to carry a frightened Nosedive. The former thief nodded to her before disappearing with the ducklings behind the building he'd previously used as a hiding place.  
  
"That's our c-cue! Let's go!" she called out.  
  
They didn't have teleporters like the Saurians did, so they had to escape the normal way: by running. They attempted to make it look like a full scale retreat, hoping to confuse the Saurians and make them think they were victorious. This was how they had planned it back in the Migrator, anyway. They had wished that Wildwing, the older one, would've been there to tell them his thoughts, but that hadn't been an option.  
  
When they got back to the place they had parked the Migrator, Duke was already there with Wildwing and Nosedive. Dive was still cuddled up against Duke, but he wasn't nearly as scared now.  
  
"Hey, it worked," Mallory smiled as she sat down, clutching her arm.  
  
Grin nodded to the three of them before taking the driver's seat, seeing as how Mallory couldn't drive, and Tanya and Duke were occupied at the moment.  
  
Duke nodded, "Yeah, sorta."  
  
"Sort of? What's that supposed to mean?" the redhead asked.  
  
Duke motioned towards Wildwing, "He's the one that got them out. I found 'em in the Raptor's air ducts."  
  
Tanya frowned, "How'd they get in there?"  
  
"We were hiding from the dumb lizards," Wildwing perked up. "And then we went in there after I left them a present."  
  
"A present? What kind of present?" Duke raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
Wildwing stood up and reached into his pocket. Both ducklings started giggling as he revealed the object. It was a bottle of superglue.  
  
"A sticky one!"  
  
*****  
  
Lord Dragaunus let out an angry snort as he briskly walked down the hallway. How did those pathetic little ducks get away from him? He had taken all of the necessary precautions, and those Mighty Ducks had still came out victorious.  
  
"Siege! It's time for us to relocate the Raptor!" he yelled.  
  
Not waiting for a response he walked into the main control room. He froze when he saw the sight before him.  
  
An enraged howl echoed throughout the ship, "Curse those stupid ducks!!"  
  
*****  
  
The trip back to the Pond was uneventful. Wildwing and Nosedive were exhausted from the day's events and had both fallen asleep, curled up against each other. They were carried into Nosedive's room when they got back, both placed in his bed so Nosedive wouldn't be scared when he awoke the next morning. Mallory's arm was bandaged, much to her complaining, and then things were quiet foe a while.  
  
But now the team was still left with the first problem; how were they going to get Wing and Dive back to normal? They still didn't know how it happened in the first place, and even Tanya was running out of ideas as to how to change them back. Unsure of what to do, the remaining ducks decided that going to bed was the best option. Maybe a way would present itself overnight.  
  
*****  
  
Tanya yawned as she walked out of her room into the main hallway. Yesterday had been rather exciting, and it was still rather early, but she figured that the best thing to do was to get back to work. Maybe she could come up with something soon.  
  
Just as she was about to enter the lab, however, she thought she heard a loud noise come from down the hallway. Who would that be? No one usually got up this early in the morning. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she cautiously crept down the darkened hallway into the Ready Room.  
  
She was startled a little by the sight, but relaxed when she remembered they had put the Christmas tree up the day before. Tanya was about to forget it and leave when she realized she wasn't the only one in the room.  
  
"Stars…" she murmured as her eyes grew wide.  
  
There, lying under the tree, were Wildwing and Nosedive. And they were once again themselves.  
  
Nosedive yawned as he sat up and opened his eyes, "Hey Tawny, did I miss something? What's going on?"  
  
*****  
  
Wildwing walked into the main room that evening after dinner, finding Nosedive sitting alone, engrossed in one of his numerous comics. He smiled and shook his head as he sat down next to the teen.  
  
"Hey there," Wing greeted his brother.  
  
Nosedive looked up at him and returned the smile, "Hey, bro'."  
  
"So," Wildwing began, "How are you doing?"  
  
"Not bad." Nosedive closed his comic book, "Okay, what do you want?"  
  
"Just thought I'd come and talk to you."  
  
"Oh, I see. About what?"  
  
"Well, I was just wondering…" Wing ran a hand over his head.  
  
"About what happened before?" Dive prompted.  
  
His brother nodded, "Yeah. Do you…?"  
  
Nosedive grinned, "Yeah, I remember. I remember everything."  
  
"It was kind of fun, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, it was. I haven't seen you happy like that in a long time."  
  
Wildwing nodded, "And I don't think you've stayed awake for that long without saying much in a while, either."  
  
"Yeah, well, it made me look cute, didn't it?"  
  
Wildwing playfully hit his brother's arm in response.  
  
Nosedive suddenly became serious, "It was weird. But I guess my wish came true."  
  
"It did come true for a while, didn't it?"  
  
"Yeah," the teen sighed. "I thought it was fun, though."  
  
"Me too. But how about we just keep this between us? You know, the others don't have to know we remember everything."  
  
"Why, don't you want the others to know that you taught me everything I know about playing pranks? You were better back then than I'll ever be."  
  
Wildwing reaches over and rustles his brother's hair, "But I grew up a little, didn't I? You'll be sorry if you say anything…"  
  
Nosedive laughs as he straightens his hair, "You'll owe me, though."  
  
"Owe you what?"  
  
"How about we go out for ice cream?"  
  
Wildwing smiled, "I guess that can be arranged. Come on."  
  
With that the brothers stood up and headed towards the Pond's exit. Up in the sky overhead a single star twinkled before disappearing into the depths of the universe.  
  
The End  
  
  
  
A/N: And that's it! I finally finished it! I'm still not completely happy with it, but I guess most authors never are. Thanks so much for being patient with me, and hopefully it won't be too long before I'm done with the next chapter of 'Choices'. Catch ya later! ^-^ 


End file.
